Tag: Exodus

“The story of the seder, the story of freedom and justice, is a universal story. It’s not too much of an exaggeration to say that just about everything we do stems from this story—this idea that we were slaves, and we were freed, and now it’s our responsibility to work for freedom for people all over the world,” says Rabbi Shira Stutman, director of Jewish programming at Historic Sixth & I Synagogue. More →

The haggadah is the book that guides Jews through the ritual of the Passover Seder, the meal commemorating their ancestors’ exodus from slavery in Egypt. The Sarajevo Haggadah is famous for its artistically illustrated manuscript pages. Created 600 years ago, “It went through so many different cultures,” observes composer Merima Kljuco, “and so many different people took the care of the book and helped it survive.” More →

“Hollywood, I think, approaches the Bible as public domain, as something that is owned by the culture at large, and they have discovered that some segments of the Christian community look at it as private property.” More →

Every year as Passover approaches, Jewish children learn the significance of unleavened bread -- matzah -- eaten at each Passover seder. R&E joined a group of some younger Jews learning to make matzah at the Temple Sha'arey Shalom School in Springfield, New Jersey. The chief baker is Rabbi Zalman Grossbaum.

To celebrate Passover, Jews gather for a Seder, a special dinner where they retell the story of their ancestors' exodus from Egypt. The Seder ritual is guided by a special book called the Haggadah. In recent years, some Jewish groups have developed Seders with a special focus. Ma'yan, the Women's Project at the Jewish Community Center of Manhattan, celebrated the anniversary of its feminist Seder.

At the Passover feast, or Seder, Jews retell the story of their ancestors' exodus from slavery in Egypt. R&E was invited to sit in on that retelling by fifth graders at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Maryland. They acted out the story for students from the Rockledge public school in Bowie, Maryland.